A known method of producing aerated baked goods exists (MPK A21D 13/00, RU J 2320174 P 1, 17.06.2006, BuI No 9, 27.03.2008, authors: Magomedov G. O., Ponomareva E. I., Shelest T. N., Krutsky S. N., Peshekhonovo A. B., (analog), where the mixing of the starting dough ingredients occurs within 1 minute and the rotation of the mixing device is 5 c-1, followed by the dough aeration process which occurs at a pressure of 0.35 MPa using the same device, for 3-5 minutes at a rotation speed of 13.3 c-1, then the dough is divided into portions of 150-170 g and baked.
Disadvantages of this method are decreased precision and more complicated technical implementation when dividing the aerated dough into portions of a specified weight, since the baking industry divides dough into portions of a specified weight on a volume basis, dividing portions from the dough mass of equal volumes, whereas after completion of the aeration process the aerated dough is an aerated foam-like mass, whose characteristics, including density, are as dependent on the parameters of the aeration process as they are on the ratio of ingredients in the dough and their properties, meaning that using a volume-based division process for aerated dough after completion of the aeration process does not provide an acceptable level of accuracy. In the proposed method, the process of dough division is performed after completion of the mixing process, so that the dough is a homogenous mass, before it is aerated and forms an aerated foam-like structure, which provides increased accuracy when dividing the dough into specified weights and simplifies technical implementation of the division process, for example using a high-performance industrial dough divider.
Another drawback of the existing method above is a decreased quality of finished aerated dough, consisting of an aerated foam-like mass, due to partial destruction of the foam occurring during the aerated dough division process. Foam destruction is caused initially by sharp unregulated drops of pressure in the zone where the dough exits from the dough mixing apparatus—being under increased pressure equal to 0.35 Mpa—into the atmosphere, which ruptures the shell of air bubbles during the drop in foam pressure. In the present method, the pressure is dropped around each portion of the aerated dough with a controlled speed between 0.005-0.015 mPa/s, providing minimum foam destruction and maximum dough rise.
Another drawback of the existing method above is the use of the same devices for the mixing and aeration processes. Specifically, the aeration process is conducted within and by the same mixing device used for conducting the mixing process. However the processes of mixing and aeration have different objectives—the mixing process combines dry and liquid ingredients, resulting in a homogenous dough mass, whereas the aeration process saturates that homogenous dough mass with air. Therefore, in order to mix the basic ingredients, one should use a dough mixer apparatus with strong rigid mixing elements designed for heavy loads, having minimal surface contact with the dough, and for the aeration process, one should use aeration devices similar to the “beater,” having a large amount of relatively thin, elastic wire-knives, which are designed to create in the homogenous dough mass upon rotation as many cuts as possible, so air can pass into them and be evenly distributed inside the dough. The aeration device requires less power. The use of mixing devices in analogs for performing the aeration process decreases the quality of the aerated dough, increases energy requirements, and lowers production efficiency.
A known invention even closer to the technical nature is a method for producing aerated unleavened bread from whole grain wheat (MPK A21D 13/02, RU J 2364087 P 1, 26.02.2008, BuI No 23, 20.08.2000, authors: Magomedov G. O., Ponomareva E. I., Aleynik I. A.) (prototype), where within the first 5-15 minutes, the process of mixing the starting ingredients for dough at a mixing device rotation speed of 15 c-1 occurs, and is followed by the dough aeration process at a pressure of 0.4 MPa using the same mixing device, for a period of 6-12 minutes at a rotation speed of 20c-1, after which the dough dividing process makes 0.25 kg portions and is consequently baked.
Disadvantages of this method are decreased precision and more complicated technical implementation when dividing the aerated dough into portions of a specified weight, since the baking industry divides dough into portions of a specified weight on a volume basis, dividing the dough into portions of equal volumes, whereas after completion of the aeration process the aerated dough is an aerated foam-like mass, whose characteristics, including density, are as dependent on the parameters of the aeration process as they are on the ratio of ingredients in the dough and their properties, meaning that using a volume-based division process for aerated dough after completion of the aeration process does not provide an acceptable level of accuracy. In the proposed method, the process of dough division is performed after completion of the mixing process, so that the dough is a homogenous mass, before it is aerated and forms an aerated foam-like structure, which provides increased accuracy when dividing the dough into specified weights and simplifies technical implementation of the division process, for example using a high-performance industrial dough divider.
Another drawback of this existing method is a decreased quality of finished aerated dough, consisting of an aerated foam-like mass, due to partial destruction of the foam occurring during the aerated dough division process. Foam destruction is caused initially by sharp unregulated drops of pressure in the zone where the dough exits from the dough mixing apparatus—being under increased pressure equal to 0.4 MPa—into the atmosphere, which ruptures the shell of air bubbles during the drop in foam pressure. In the present method, the pressure is dropped around each portion of the aerated dough at a controlled rate between 0.005-0.015 mPa/s, providing minimum foam destruction and maximum dough rise.
Another drawback of this existing method is the use of the same devices for the mixing and aeration processes. Specifically, the aeration process is conducted within and by the same mixing device used for conducting the mixing process. However, the processes of mixing and aeration have different objectives—the mixing process combines dry and liquid ingredients, resulting in a homogenous dough mass, whereas the aeration process saturates that homogenous dough mass with air. Therefore, in order to mix the basic ingredients, one should use a dough mixer apparatus with strong rigid mixing elements designed for heavy loads, having minimal surface contact with the dough, and for the aeration process, one should use aeration devices similar to the “beater”, having a large amount of relatively thin, elastic wire-knives, which are designed to create in the homogenous dough mass upon rotation as many cuts as possible, so air can pass into them and be evenly distributed inside the dough. The aeration device requires less power. The use of mixing devices in analogs for performing the aeration process decreases the quality of the aerated dough, increases energy requirements, and lowers production efficiency.
The technical results of the claimed invention are simplification and improved precision of the process of dividing the dough into portions of specified weight, improved quality of the aeration dough, improved energy efficiency, and increased production efficiency.
Technical results are achieved by the bread production method using aerated, including unleavened, dough, comprised of processes of mixing dough, aeration of the dough, division of dough into portions of a predetermined weight and bread baking, where the process of division is performed after conclusion of the mixing process, before the aeration process, then the aeration process is performed by the aeration device separately for each portion of dough, after which the bread baking with the aerated dough is conducted under the corresponding baking conditions. The processes of mixing and aerating the dough are performed with separate devices, preferably suited to performing mixing and aeration processes, respectively. The aeration process is performed under a pressure of no less than 0.3 MPa followed by decreasing pressure to atmospheric, and the pressure decreasing to atmospheric is performed at a controlled rate, between 0.02-0.2 MPa/s, which is optimal for minimal foam destruction and maximal dough rise. The decrease rate depends on the dough type, the gluten content, the dough humidity, the rate and properties of other ingredients, etc. The pressure decreasing is performed either before or after removal of the aeration devices from the dough. The process of aeration a portion of dough is performed in baking molds, or in intermediate vessels, followed by transfer of the dough into the baking mold. Transfer of the aerated dough from the intermediate vessels is performed either in baking molds under atmospheric pressure after lowering the pressure in the intermediate vessels to atmospheric, or in baking molds under the same increased pressure as the intermediate vessels, where the pressure is decreased to atmospheric after the transfer is completed.